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An advanced precision guided
air/ground weapon - Armament Air-Sol Modulaire, is developed by
Sagem for the French Air force. The weapon is designed in both
glide and powered configurations, offering standoff capability
exceeding 50 km when released from high altitude and 15km, in low
altitude flight profile. AASM is designed to replace AS-30L laser
guided missiles, and complement the
Scalp EG, as a low cost
weapon. The basic configuration uses a GPS/INS navigation kit,
strapped to a standard 500 pound warhead (such as Mk 82 bomb). The
initial configuration which will be fielded by early 2005, will
offer JDAM-class precision, and
all-weather capability, while follow on versions that are
scheduled for fielding by 2007 will also include passive IR
guidance which will offer an accuracy compatible with laser guided
weapons. A laser-guided version of the AASM is also in
development, enabling attack of targets of opportunity, including
mobile targets.
In a first operational test conducted
December 1, 2006
GPS/INS guided AASM was dropped from a Mirage 2000 N at the
Biscarosse Launch Missile Test Center in the southwest region of
France. The weapon was dropped at low altitude, high speed and under
strong load factor, thus validating the AASM's GPS/INS guided
version's performance in difficult, tight maneuvers. |